Is there anything Russell Wilson can’t do? The Seahawks’ rookie quarterback almost single-handedly drove his team downfield in overtime Sunday as Seattle rocked the Bears 23-17 in Chicago, picking up a key road victory and keeping the Seahawks’ playoff chances alive and well.

And if it weren’t for Wilson’s other clutch performance late in the fourth quarter, the Seahawks wouldn’t have gotten the chance to begin with. He led yet another come-from-behind drive in the final four minutes of regulation, as the Seahawks surged 97 yards from a four-point deficit to take a 17-14 lead with 24 seconds remaining at Soldier Field.

But the Bears, who led Seattle for much of the game Sunday, wouldn’t give up that easily. Quarterback Jay Cutler connected with wide receiver Brandon Marshall down the right sideline for a 56-yard pass, getting Chicago within field goal range. With 3 seconds remaining, Bears kicker Robbie Gould put up a 46-yarder to tie the game at 17 and send it to overtime.

By that time Chicago, which struggled to make sense of Wilson’s crafty scrambling all afternoon, was tired and vulnerable. After Seattle won the overtime coin toss — a big break in itself — Wilson and the Seahawks drove 80 yards downfield, snagging the victory when Wilson hit wide receiver Sidney Rice for a game-winning, 13-yard touchdown pass in the NFL’s sudden-death overtime.

With the win, Seattle improved to 7-5 and Chicago fell to 8-4 — and the way the playoff race is shaping up, the two teams could potentially face each other again in the postseason.

Wilson went 23-of-37 with 293 passing yards, two touchdowns and no interceptions Sunday as he put together another stellar performance. Though he somewhat uncharacteristically made a few obvious rookie mistakes that Seahawks fans aren’t used to seeing from their quarterback, Wilson was undoubtedly the player of the game. He added 71 yards on the ground, trailing running back Marshawn Lynch on the stat sheet by just 16 rushing yards.

Lynch struggled at times to break through Chicago’s defensive line, but was able to tally 87 yards and one touchdown on 19 carries. As a team, mainly with help from Wilson, the Seahawks put up 176 rushing yards as Seattle adjusted its usual run-heavy offense. For the first time this season, Seahawks head coach Pete Carroll and offensive coordinator Darrell Bevell called more passing plays than running plays (though Seattle ran 27 of each in last week’s loss to Miami), and the formula paid off against Chicago’s eighth-ranked rush defense.

Though the Seahawks again committed too many penalties — eight flags for a total loss of 55 yards — they were able to survive. Seattle’s most damaging mistakes came in the middle of the third quarter, when it looked like the Seahawks had forced a three-and-out against the Bears’ offense. But a penalty against Seattle defensive end Bruce Irvin, for an illegal hand in the face, gave Chicago a new set of downs and the Bears ended up converting that drive into their second touchdown of the game, taking a 14-10 lead they held until the final seconds of regulation.

Of course, Wilson had a lot of help during the Seahawks’ fourth-quarter and overtime drives.

Down by four and backed up to their own 3-yard line, the Seahawks had just 3:40 left in regulation to eke out an elusive road victory. After an incompletion then an 11-yard pass to tight end Anthony McCoy, on first down Wilson dumped the ball off to Lynch for another 10 yards. But Lynch then committed his second fumble of the game, and it was Wilson — trailing the developing play — who recovered the ball and saved the possession for the Seahawks. Wilson went right back to Lynch on the next play, completing the pass for 11 yards and continuing the come-from-behind drive.

After trying a deep strike to Rice that fell incomplete and was nearly intercepted by Bears safety Major Wright, Wilson ended up scrambling for 13 yards and then keeping it again for 6 more yards. When a holding call on tackle Breno Giacomini pushed the Seahawks back to third-and-14 from their own 41-yard line, Wilson answered with an 11-yard pass to wide receiver Doug Baldwin. Faced with fourth down and 3 yards to go, Carroll put his trust in Wilson and decided to go for it, and Wilson connected with tight end Zach Miller up the middle for 7 yards and a fresh set of downs.

On first down from the Chicago 41, Wilson then hit Rice up the middle for a 27-yard pass. And on the next play, he threw a strike to wide receiver Golden Tate, who dove just over the goal line before losing control of the ball. The officials confirmed the touchdown pass, and the Seahawks had their 17-14 lead with just 14 seconds left in regulation.

Then, when Seattle needed them the most, the Seahawks defense broke down. On Chicago’s first snap, desperate for a big play from the 14-yard line, Seattle’s coverage evaporated as Cutler avoided pressure and threw a deep pass to Marshall down the right sideline. It was Seattle cornerback Richard Sherman, playing Sunday despite facing a four-game suspension after a failed drug test, who finally pushed Marshall out of bounds at Seattle’s 30-yard line.

What looked to be a wild come-from-behind victory for the Seahawks, who entered the game just 1-5 in enemy territory this season, was taken away just like that when kicker Gould tied it up as the clock hit zero.

But Wilson, who celebrated his 24th birthday on Thursday, didn’t panic. After Seattle won the overtime coin toss and took a touchback on the kickoff to start from the 20-yard line, Wilson needed to execute the Seahawks’ late-game drill like a veteran. And he did.

On first down, Wilson kept the ball and scrambled for 11 yards. Then he handed it off to Lynch, who got 14 more yards. With a new set of downs at the Seattle 45, things got a bit dicey when Lynch rushed for no gain then Wilson was called for delay of game. Faced with second-and-15 from the 40, Wilson dumped it off to fullback Michael Robinson for 13 more yards. Meanwhile, star Bears cornerback Tim Jennings was injured on the play when he hit Robinson.

On third-and-2 from the Chicago 42, Wilson faked a handoff to Lynch and kept the ball, scrambling left for another huge first down. Then, after short gains by Lynch and Wilson again, Wilson scrambled for another 12 yards and another first down. Seattle was at Chicago’s 37-yard line with a fresh set of downs, facing a confused defense that couldn’t seem to make sense of Wilson’s triple threat.

Two unsuccessful plays later, Wilson hit Baldwin on the left sideline for a 12-yard gain and the Seahawks were in business at Chicago’s 13. That’s when, on first down, Wilson rolled left away from the pocket and hit a slanting Rice for the game-winning touchdown. Rice got rattled on the play, but was up and walking around after the officials reviewed the TD and confirmed Seattle’s big road win.

Rookie linebacker Bobby Wagner led Seattle with 11 total tackles, including his team’s only sack late in the fourth quarter. The Bears sacked Wilson twice, and cornerback Charles Tillman led Chicago with 9 total tackles. Star linebacker Brian Urlacher was close behind with 8 total take-downs.

In the receiving corps, it was once again the Sidney Rice and Golden Tate show. Rice had 99 yards and that game-winning TD on six receptions. Tate, who had 96 yards and a touchdown on five receptions, hauled in a 49-yard pass late in the second quarter — on the next play, Lynch ran into the end zone to tie the game at 7. Then, five seconds before halftime, Seattle kicker Steven Hauschka hit a 31-yard field goal and the Seahawks took a 10-7 lead into the locker room.

The Seahawks defense, however, had a hard time all day with Bears receiver Marshall. He had 165 yards on 10 receptions, averaging 16.5 per catch and hauling in that key 56-yarder in the final seconds of regulation.

Running back Matt Forte, who was questionable coming into Sunday’s game with an ankle injury, collected 66 yards on the ground in 21 carries. RB Michael Bush added 39 and Cutler scrambled for 27 as the Bears put 132 rushing yards up on the board.

The Seahawks take on the Arizona Cardinals in an NFC West showdown next Sunday at CenturyLink Field in Seattle. Though Seattle lost to the Cards last time the teams met, falling 20-6 in Glendale to open the season on Sept. 9, the Seahawks should be favored to win at home. Losing again 7-6 to the New York Jets on Sunday, Arizona hasn’t won a game wince beating Miami 24-21 in overtime on Sept. 30.